rock1947a

Hi. Your team's hard work is greatly appreciated in documenting the history of the PBR MK.1 and the heroic sailors who manned them. If it would be of any use to you, below is a link to a 1/35 scale resin kit manufactured by Masterpiece Models. I believe their work is very well researched. They produce several kits of Brown Water Navy boats including a Mk.1 PBR, a PCF Swift Boat, Monitors, ASPB, and a PACV Hovercraft. The PBR pdf. instruction file has many images of the boat details, including the Mk.17 forward gun mount. I hope you can find their website informative and interesting.. Again, many thanks to all of you for dedicating so much time and effort to the 1/6 scale PBR Mk.1 project. Best regards, Pete Bruno https://masterpiecemodels.com/product/31-patrol-boat-river/ Also on Facebook - Masterpiece Models

Thanks for the great information robnbill and Evan. I'll incorporate most of the details in my eventual build. My inexperience with nautical matters has led me into numerous side-issues not specific to the model, but that can affect it. For example, my fixation on mounting the various boat's rudders. I understand that when unshipped, the rudder pintles slip into the sternpost/transom gudgeons. (I intend to include representations of the pintles and gudgeons on the applicable boats in my build.) What confuses me from an operational standpoint is how to prevent the pintles from slipping out of the gudgeons in a heavy sea. Was there some kind of bracket on the stern/transom to prevent the rudder from sliding up? I hope the "Boats of Men-of-War" book I ordered will answer questions like this. I'm finding the comprehensive information everyone is sharing to be invaluable and increases my enjoyment of my build project. Thanks for everyone's kind contribuitons and interest. The more, the better. Pete

Thank you Michael and Tom for your quick responses and information. Michael: I just ordered a used copy of W. E. May's book via Alibris from the UK. It could take almost a month to reach me in the US, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait. Thanks for the recommendation. Tom: Thanks for pointing out the AOS Constitution book. I do have it, but didn't see the details about the number of oars per type of boat. There's so much to absorb for a newbie like me, The subject is so fascinating I'm trying to cram too much too quickly. I look forward to the information and opinions others might add to make this thread a useful reference for anyone interested in the Constitution's boats as we are. Pete

Hi everyone. I'm gathering as much information as possible for a pending build of a 1/96 Revell USS Constitution. There are a few excellent build logs on this website that I'm following closely for reference, details, and inspiration. I don't want to distract further from those builds, so I hope you won't mind if I start this new thread. My seafaring knowledge is practically non-existent. Please forgive me if my questions are elementary. I've spent a great deal of time lately on trying to research the internet without much success about the ship's boats circa 1812-1815. Most of the sources I've read generally agree on 8 boats being carried: One 36-ft. pinnace Two 30-ft. cutters Two 28-ft. whaleboats One 28-ft. gig One 22-ft. jolly boat One 14-ft. punt The paintings and ship models I've seen don't show boat rudders while on the davits, so I'm confused about when and how the rudders would have been mounted. In my mind, for some reason the rudders are conspicuous by their absence. I presume the gudgeons would visible on the boats when the rudders are shipped. This might be a very minor detail, but it nags at me until I can find out more about the subject. I'd like to learn more about how the boat's rudders and tillers were mounted on each of the different types of boats listed above. Were they all mounted with pintles and gudgeons to sternposts and transoms? Would the rudders have been unshipped and the tillers lashed when the boats were hung from the davits ready for launching? Were tools required to connect the pintles to the gudgeons? Would the punt even have a rudder and tiller? How many pairs of oars would have been used on each of these types of boats? Which types would have been capable of mounting sails? Thanks very much for your interest, and for any suggestions or references you can provide. Please feel free to offer your opinions. Pete

Hi again, Evan. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the rudders on the Constitution's small boats I agree that it's logical to assume their rudders would have been unshipped and stowed until needed. The least amount of obstructions on deck the better Since I haven't found much information about the design of the different types of boats, I had thought the rudders on trhe largest types like the pinnace and cutters were permanantly attached to their transoms or stern pasts. Thanks again for sharing, and keep up the excellent work. Pete

Superb, inspiring work Evan. I have a question about your plans for the ship's boats. Please forgive my ignorance, but should any or all of the ship's boats have a rudder and tiller either installed or stowed? I haven't been able to find any specific information via internet searches, and thought you might already have worked out how you'll depict the boats in your build. Regretably, I haven't spent much time on nautical subjects until now, but I'm learning a great deal from the postings on this thread. Thanks for any information, references, or suggestions. Pete

I found the information on the following URL about the USS Constitution very interesting, and thought I should share it with those who might be unfamiliar with it. Although not strictly modeling related, the short description of the Guerriere engagement and the expendititure of powder and shot are details I haven't seen before. Being new to sailing ship modeling, please forgive me if this is common knowledge. I'm not trying to hijack this thread, just to add to the excellent information about this historic ship included in it. Pete http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/Warof1812/2006/Issue2/c_constitutionsload.html